Everything's Not Lost
by Rhaella Valysar
Summary: The things people would do seeking revenge are just as dangerous as the ones they'd do for love. When Philippe and Preminger join another evildoer to destroy the ones they hate, things will get rough. Love, hate, musketeers, revenge and flying machines-Everyone will be put to the test and they'll have to make sacrifices to prove that maybe everything's not lost. BarbieCrossover
1. The End is Where We Begin

Everything's Not Lost by **Shadowgirl416**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I am not making any profit writing this. This is for pure entertainment._

**_This fic is a crossover between two Barbie movies: Barbie and The Three Musketeers and Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper._**

_***Note**: Not all characters will appear in this first chapter - and about the grammar, you have been warned several times already ;) I **really** do my best. Also, my laptop's kind of broken right now and it has been doing really crazy things when I'm writing so please forgive me if there is something way too stupidly written around here - I'm going to get it fixed as soon as I can._

* * *

_**Prologue:**_

The battle was over.

Philippe, his accomplices and his dog were all arrested, now on their way to prison.

Louis couldn't feel any more betrayed; his own cousin, the man he had always seen like a father, had tried to kill him. And if it wasn't for a _certain_ lady, Philippe would have succeeded. And of course he had to give credit to the other girls that helped, without them his cousin's malefic plan would have worked out perfectly.

As the carriage that held those vicious and treacherous beings faded in the distance, Louis turned when he heard several people walking closer to where he and Monsieur Treville were standing.

Four masked ladies stood in front of him; one wearing turquoise, next to her one wearing purple, the other one dressed in light blue and the last one – the one he instantly recognized as Lady Barbeque - wearing pink.

Louis had spent all night trying to figure out who she was; how many times he repented on doing a masquerade-ball for his birthday party! Since he saw that blonde girl at his ball, just when her bright blue eyes met his, he knew he had seen her before. But he really couldn't remember where or when. And now that the other girls who cooperated to defeat Philippe's men were there too, he couldn't hold it any longer, he had to know. "I want to see the faces of my rescuers." Said the Prince, causing all four girls to look at each other. They seemed to have mentally agreed to allow their identities to be revealed as they all lifted their arms to take their masks off.

Louis was baffled when he realized he actually **knew** these girls, the one wearing turquoise was Aramina, she was one of his cleaning ladies, the other wearing purple was Viveca, also a maid of his, the next girl who was wearing light blue was Renée – another woman he had seen cleaning his castle with the other girls! And when he saw the face of the last one – the one he had been craving to know who she really was - he was completely astonished.

_Corinne_, another of the young women who worked in the castle – but, she wasn't just an employee like the other girls. Corinne had saved his life. She had been there when that chandelier almost fell on top of him; moments ago he had met her, and that was the first time he had ever felt paralyzed and captivated by a pair of blue eyes.

Louis ignored what he had felt; she had pretty eyes, so what? _No big deal_, he thought. However, when his hot-air balloon experiment went wrong, his brown eyes found those beautiful blue ones again. It was almost calming, almost as if they hypnotized him. And then, he messed everything up. After he discovered they had so much in common, after the connection they had made became so strong in such short time, he made fun of her. That beautiful pair of blue eyes glared at him, and it was the first time he had ever felt ashamed and sorry for something he had said. He was the Prince; he could laugh and tease anyone he wanted. Yet, his heart squirmed when Corinne walked away from him – a mixture of anger and pain on her face. And now, those eyes were piercing his own again.

Corinne had saved him, _once again_. Even when he thought that woman was really called Lady Barbecue, even when it never crossed his mind that she could be anyone he already knew – he just found out she was the same girl who stole his attention since he first met her.

Louis almost gasped as Corinne smiled and then grinned at him. "Co-rinne?" he said, and she almost thought he was nervous to face her.

And when the blonde woman was about to respond, a redheaded woman walked in. She gasped when she saw the girls, "You!" she shouted, pointing at Corinne – whose grin rapidly morphed into a worried look.

She instantly turned to face Renée, knowing that this pleasant moment was about to be ruined by no other than the woman who had fired them.

Madame de Bossé looked at Louis, "Your highness," She politely started, turning to face the four girls again, her tone turning brute and rude. "Those girls have been _banned_ from the castle." She said, all of them frowned.

Louis faced the blonde woman, "Is this true Corinne?" he asked, his voice sounded as if he was shocked to hear this.

Corinne placed her hands on her hips, trying to put on a brave and bold pose – but she failed, she couldn't lie to him. So, her arms dropped in defeat and looking at him with embarrassment, she nodded. "Yes, your highness." She replied.

Monsieur Treville looked at him; Louis eyed the girls as he said: "Then this is a serious offense." His gaze stopping at Corinne once again.

Madame de Bossé added, "Arrest them immediately!" as she pointed at the girls once more.

Louis scowled, "After what you've done, you girls don't belong at the castle," he said as he shook his head. Corinne, Viveca, Aramina and Renée's expressions saddened; after all they have done they still weren't allowed in the palace. They had lost their job just to save the prince; and still, they weren't being rewarded like they knew they disserved.

Monsieur Treville placed a hand on Louis's shoulder, "You girls don't belong at the castle anymore," repeated the white-haired man, "After you proved yourselves to us, you've all won my respect and admiration." Yeah, that was _something_ – but it wasn't going to get their jobs back or get them a new one either. And after Treville looked at Louis again, they both smiled simultaneously, "Your place is with the musketeers." He finished as the nagging redhead gasped.

The girls felt lightheaded for a moment – _Musketeers_, he said?

They just couldn't process all of those emotions at once… or where their ears deceiving them? Was Treville fooling around with them?

They looked at each other; confusion was the only thing they all saw in the other's eyes. Neither of them could believe what he had just said. And after what they felt where thousands of minutes, they looked at the pair of grinning men in front of them.

Viveca was the one who managed to speak, "_Musketeers_, you said?" she asked.

And Louis and Monsieur Treville chuckled, "That is correct." He simply replied, smiling at them. Madame de Bossé walked away.

And with that, the group of women gasped with joy. And looking at each other again they shrieked, as they walked closer to embrace.

Their dream was about to come true, they were going to be the first female musketeers ever!

And after they separated, they went to hug both Monsieur Treville and Louis – thanking them for making this possible.

The white haired man smiled, "Just be here tomorrow for the Prince's coronation, and don't be late." And with that, he walked away as well.

Viveca, Aramina and Renée waved at him as they waited for Prince Louis to release Corinne from his embrace. The trio giggled, Aramina sighed as she looked at them and before she could say something that would ruin this moment Renée pulled her away to leave their friend alone with the Prince.

After there was nothing more than the silence left, Louis realized what he was doing. And he instantly released the blonde girl from his arms, making her chuckle. She hadn't noticed what she had been doing either, their cheeks turning red and hot as they faced each other.

She cleared her throat; he scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks, your highness. For everything."

Louis shook his head, "Corinne," he started, "It is _me_ the one who should be thanking you." The girl had never felt so flattered in her life, her cheeks turned even redder. "You saved my life twice already! I would have died up there if you hadn't arrived in time."

She smiled, even when she was focusing on trying to make her hands stop trembling. And shaking her head, she answered. "Don't worry about it. Like you already know I aspire to be a musketeer, it will be my job to save your life after tomorrow."

Louis chuckled, "I guess it will, but you didn't have to save me all those times before – still, you did it."

Corinne laughed, "I know, I guess that means that for now on you won't be able to live without me." She joked, yet the brown-haired man's expression softened. And when she stopped laughing at her own joke, she met his gaze. The Prince was looking at her in an odd way, at least for her; she almost felt like if he was looking at her with a kind of fondness.

"You know… you're right, Corinne." He said, she was mesmerized by his brown eyes. "I wouldn't last a day without you…"

Still shocked and hypnotized, Corinne couldn't think of anything else to say. She stood there in front of him, staring at his eyes – she had never felt any more foolish before. He was just saying thanks to her, nothing more. So she looked away, clearing her throat again. "Then I guess we'll have fun, your highness." She tittered, "Because as a musketeer it will be my duty to -" She stopped talking when she realized what that meant…

Louis continued for her, "Protect me," he smiled, "And to do that you'll have to be watching me all the time."

Corinne chuckled, watch him all the time? "Well, your highness, that sounds more like what a stalker would do."

The Prince nodded, walking closer to her. "Then… so you won't feel like you're stalking me," He suddenly felt shy to say what was on his mind, he was awful at flirting and he knew it was way too soon to say strong things like _'I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side.'_ even when his heart screamed it at him. Too hasty. "I guess we'll have to spend time together… you know, do _things_ together."

Corinne bit her lower lip as she smiled, looking down so he wouldn't notice – she couldn't wait to start her new job. "That sounds nice…" she replied.

When Louis was about to say something else, Hèléne interrupted. "Your highness," she started, the young prince looked at her. "You are needed at the ballroom."

"Tell them I'll be there right away." The woman nodded, walking away and leaving them alone once again.

Louis sighed, he just wanted to spend more time with her. But, right now, he knew she must have been feeling exhausted. And to be honest, so did he. "I'm sorry, Corinne."

She chuckled, "Not to worry, your highness."

He walked closer even closer, and in a daring move he grabbed her hands – she almost gasped. "You just saved my life, several times, call me Louis." And she couldn't think of anything else to say to him, she was way too lost in his eyes to think of something. So, she plainly smiled as she nodded again. "Uh," he muttered, finding himself thinking about how to say goodbye to her. "I really must be going."

"I know…"

"Until tomorrow then." Louis then released one of her hands and lifted the other to press his lips to the back of it.

And when their eyes met, another voice interrupted, "Oh! That's so romantic!" and Corinne knew who it was, Aramina must have been hiding somewhere.

"Aramina!" Another two female voices hissed in unison, Viveca and Renee were spying on them as well.

"Are you sure you have everything, darling?"

Anneliese sighed, smiling at her mother. This was the fifth time she'd ask that in the last ten minutes. "Mom, I already told you I do."

Genevieve walked closer to her, placing her hands on her shoulders. This was the first time her daughter was going to travel without her, well… the second time actually; Anneliese didn't allow her to go with them to their honeymoon. Her eyes getting teary as she took a breath to speak, "I can't believe you are leaving…"

The younger blonde chuckled, "I'll be back."

The frown on her mother's face didn't go away, the doors of her room sprung open and a man walked in. "We are just going to Louis coronation, your majesty." Added Julian as he took a valise from a table. "We'll be back before you even notice we were gone." He smiled, picking up some more bags for the servants to put away.

A sudden smash made them recoil, a loud giggle following the sound. One of their servants walked into the room, carrying a laughing blond toddler in his arms. An almost annoyed expression on his face, it was now usual for these things to happen when _he_ was around. "Your majesties, he just broke the hall's finest vase while playing with one of his toys – _again_."

Instead of getting mad, Queen Genevieve grinned as she walked towards the man to pick up the little boy. Pinching his tiny nose as he giggled again, the servant left. "How will I be able not to notice your absence?" She said as the kid squeezed the small rubber ball in his hands, "Without Adam this place will be too quiet."

Anneliese handed another suitcase to Julian, "Well, at least you'll get a vacation from him." She joked, walking to her dresser and putting her coat on.

Her mother shook her head, "Why don't you leave him with me? You two can spend some time together without any distractions."

Anneliese shook her head as she smiled again, walking closer to her mother to put Adam's little sweater on. "Julian can't spend a minute without him, and neither can I."

Genevieve chuckled, "I'm not getting any younger."

Her daughter laughed as they both dressed the blue-eyed boy. "Why don't you come with us, I'm sure your new advisor can take care of everything for a couple of days."

The Queen rapidly shook her head, "Oh, no. Not after what Preminger did; I do not trust anyone with this kind of duty anymore. Right, Adam?"

The boy looked at his grandma, icy blue eyes looking up. "Bahbah." He replied as he grinned.

She laughed, "I'll take that as a yes."

The younger blonde woman took her baby in her arms, it was almost time to go and it was going to be a long journey. They wanted to arrive in time for Louis coronation, but now they doubt they were going to make in time. And as they walked out of Anneliese's room heading for the doorway where the royal carriage was waiting for them, she tried to convince he mother to go too. "It would nice for you to come; you're Louis's aunt after all."

Genevieve slightly shrugged, "He is about to become King, he'll understand what it's like."

Anneliese gave up, and hugging her mother goodbye when she arrived at the doorway Adam dropped his toy.

A guard dressed with a body armor that was standing near saw the ball and respectably walked closer to the women to return it.

"Your highnesses…" he bowed, they turned to face him. "I believe this belongs to your son." The man wearing the metal suit handed the toy to the little boy. Adam took it but instead of smiling at this stranger for doing something good for him, he just looked away.

Anneliese smiled, "Thank you."

He bowed once again, "You're welcome, your highness. And if you'll excuse my inquisitiveness, I must ask why are you traveling this late at night?"

And just when she was about to reply, Julian walked closer to them – answering the guard's question. "We must be arriving at Paris by midday, we forgot about a very important event. But we are not that late."

The armored man nodded, and after the trio of blondes said goodbye to the Queen, Adam frowned at him. But of course, no one noticed except for him. And after their carriage left, the Queen stopped waving and she started to dry her eyes with a handkerchief.

"I just hope they have a good time." She commented.

"Oh, I'm sure they will." The guard assured.

And then, another guard came running towards the woman - a worried expression on his face. And after he was close enough to speak with her, he gasped for air.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

The guard looked at her, putting a hand on his chest as he tried to catch his breath again. "Your highness," he started, still panting, "Preminger has escaped!"

Genevieve gasped, her stomach churned and her hands started to tremble. And even when she wanted to ask him how this had happened, she knew it would be better if she caught him before he could hide somewhere far. "Send everyone to look for him, and send someone to be by side immediately!"

The guard nodded and then ran off to obey the Queen's orders. Genevieve turned to the armored one standing by her side, "Please find him," she pleaded, "He's very dangerous!"

And with that, she ran inside the castle as well.

The man wearing the metal suit nodded again, "Oh, don't worry your majesty." He said, lifting the small aperture on his helmet to reveal his face. Amber eyes frowning, and under his long nose his thin lips curled up to a smirk as he watched several guards run by, the man who they were looking for was actually hiding under their noses, disguised as one of their own. "I'm sure he's not faraway." He mocked.

* * *

_**Chapter 1: The End is Where We Begin**_

Louis waved at the girls as the crowd behind him cheered; the first female musketeers ever. This day had turned out to be better than he had expected, he was crowned King and now Corinne and her friends' dream had come true. Plus, his men actually managed to fetch Corinne's mother so she could be present in this important moment. He had never seen her so happy like she was today, she looked so beautiful – he just hoped she returned soon so they could go on their balloon ride together.

And as everyone started to disperse; Mary, Corinne's mom walked closer to him.

She bowed respectably, "Your majesty," started the woman, Louis nodded so she would continue, "I suppose that flying contraption of yours can be considered safe, right?"

Louis nodded again, chuckling. "I presume that it can, I designed and built it myself. Not to mention I already tried it -"

The blonde woman gently cut him off, "I'm just making sure it's safe. I heard when you asked my daughter to ride that thing with you." His face flushed and she smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. She would recognize that look anywhere.

But Louis wasn't prepared to admit anything.

"I assure that Corinne will be safe in my balloon, Mrs.…" he stopped, he had invited her to his coronation and he didn't even know her name.

"Mrs. Mary D'Artagnan." She smiled.

"Musketeers!" called Monsieur Treville, all eyes in the room turned to him. They were in his office, and the girls had noticed something was wrong since they arrived – if this was a meeting, where were the other musketeers? "Like I said when I fetched you all, we have just received word of a plot against the King."

"And do you know who is it this time, Monsieur Treville?" asked Corinne.

The white-haired man shook his head, starting to pace around the group. "I'm afraid we don't have that kind of information yet."

"Then how are you sure that there's a real plot?" Asked Renée.

Treville smiled at her, "I was just getting to that." he said, walking to the door of the room and waving at someone to come in. No more than two seconds passed, and a limping man walked in.

He was obviously hurt; bruises and wounds all over his face and hands, and only God knew how many more injuries he had on his body. Even when Treville walked closer to help him walk, he pushed him away – a frown upon his face. The girls gasped when they recognized him; he was Austin, one of the male musketeers.

Aramina couldn't resist, she stood up from her chair to help him herself. The man didn't dare to push her away, pushing a man was a thing, but pushing a lady was another. So she guided him to his chair, grunting and wincing in pain as he finally sat with the redhead's help. "Thanks." He said, the frown still on his face.

The girl nodded and returned to her place, Treville continued. "Charlie, David and Austin were assigned to arrest Philippe and his assistant and bring them to jail last night. But as you can see," he looked at the injured brown haired-man, "Things did not go the way they should have."

"And where are the other two?" asked Viveca.

"_Dead_." Austin brusquely answered; the older man shook his head.

"Don't say that. This is Philippe we are talking about; Charlie and David are probably captive, but I doubt your theory."

He glared at Treville, "Can't you see what they did to me?" he asked through clenched teeth. "They didn't played fair on us, if they had fought us like real civilized men do Charlie and David would be here with me and we wouldn't be so beat up like I am."

The girls listened with shock, their eyes wide and full of concern. Austin, Charlie and David had been musketeers for a long time, if they couldn't handle Philippe how where they supposed to beat him? And sure, they had beaten him already – but for what Austin was saying, he wasn't playing by the rules. Corinne asked, "What did they do?"

The man sighed, "I was driving their carriage, they managed to get out somehow and they suddenly attacked me. Charlie and David were not faraway and they ran back to help me. But Philippe and his assistant were armed; they even didn't allow us to take out our swords to fight back." He dropped his head in defeat, "They attacked us and then… I woke up in my bed like this."

"But nobody found them, so they _must_ be somewhere." Treville added, Austin didn't felt like saying anything else. And turning to the girls, who were clearly shaken by the new, he continued. "Philippe's on the loose and it is possible that he will come back. As musketeers, it is now up to you to protect King Louis at all cost. We'll take care of the other things going on, like your fellow musketeers' disappearance. I have also sent my best guards to look for them. But, you'll have to be watching the castle at all time, day and night."

Viveca then questioned this last order, "Monsieur Treville, how we'll be able to watch the castle by night if we live somewhere else?"

He nodded; she was absolutely right and because he really had not thought about that he decided to think about it later. Right now, they had to go to the castle as soon as possible. He'll figure it out in the meantime. "Nice question, my dear. And I assure you that I will answer it you all very soon. But right now, I need you to go to the palace to keep and eye on Louis." He motioned them to go, "I'll be there as soon as I can to explain better."

"Oh, There you are!" exclaimed the green-eyed woman as she walked closer to the young man standing on the other side of the room. She opened her arms to hug the King, he felt a bit puzzled by that but he eventually hugged her back. It had been so long since a woman had hugged him, having her wrapping her arms around him in a maternal way made him remember his late mother. And suddenly he started to like the idea of having a big family again, maybe someday…

Mary squeezed him harder, making him choke a bit – but when he felt her sobbing he broke their embrace.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes filled concern. "What's wrong?" asked Louis.

She smiled at him, wiping away her tears with her hand. "Oh, nothing's wrong, your majesty."

He removed his hands, "Then why are you crying?"

She sniffed, grinning at him. "I just wanted to thank you."

Louis chuckled, "Thank me for what?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "For everything you've done for my little girl!" she almost shouted, "She's finally a musketeer; thanks to you she's living her dream."

He shrugged as he smiled at her, "Oh, it was nothing, Mrs. D'Artagnan. Corinne deserves it."

"Oh, please, call me Mary, your highness." The young King nodded, "I wanted to see you so I could thank you and also to say goodbye."

Louis softly gasped, "You can't be leaving now, please stay." He said, Mary shook her head. "I know Corinne would love if you did."

"Your majesty, I have a farm to take care of." She explained, "Besides I'm sure Corinne is in good hands."

Louis chuckled again, "Well, I would say is the other way around. With Corinne around, **we** are the ones in good hands."

Mary laughed, walking closer to hug him again. He did not hesitate to squeeze her tighter. But then, she broke away from him. "It's time for me to go, your majesty."

"Please,"

"I have to go." She chuckled.

Louis nodded, he understood she had to leave but he also knew how much it meant for Corinne to have her mother around. "Mary, there will be another ball in a couple of days. I would be honored if you come to spend some more time with Corinne."

The blonde woman nodded again, "I'll see what I can do; but I guess I can count on you to keep her company." And with that, she walked away.

Corinne had a wonderful mother, now he knew where she got all of her charms. He also was starting to suspect that she somehow knew what was going through his mind… And then, as he started to walk away, a man called for him.

"Your majesty."

He sighed, he knew who it was and he honestly wasn't in the mood for more of his new kingly duties. It was the man he knew as the royal advisor, an elderly man who he barely saw around the castle. But now, he was the King, which meant that instead of calling Philippe to listen to whatever the advisor had to say like he usually did, he had to listen to him himself.

"Yes?" Louis replied as he stopped walking.

"First of all, I must congratulate you." The bald man smiled as he shook Louis's hand, "It was a beautiful event."

"Thank you."

He then placed his hand on Louis's back to guide him to the King's office, a place Louis had only visited several times. "Come." And as they walked through the halls, the advisor started talking. "You know, your majesty, you are almost an exact replica of your late father."

He had never heard such thing, maybe because the only family he had had around as he grew up was Philippe. Still, he felt flattered when he said that – his father had been a great ruler. "I am?"

"Indeed," he assured, "And I must say we are all expecting a lot of great things from you."

Oh, now he started to worry. This was his first day as King and they were already expecting him to do things? "Like…?"

"Well, first of all keeping the Spanish army in hand is a must. That little crook has had his eyes on France for a long time now, so we must be careful with him." The King nodded, he didn't know much about him – but he had heard enough to know he was not to trust. He remembered Philippe was a good friend of his. "Secondly, like your father did, everyone's expecting you to rule wisely and morally. Which I know you will." He smiled at Louis, and finally arriving at the office.

It was the one Philippe use to call his own, he even had his portrait there – and closing the door behind him, the advisor pointed at the red chair behind the desk. The _King's_ rightful place. He sat on one that was in front of it, and when Louis took a seat he continued. "Last but not least, one of the reasons of my visit."

The old man moved one of his hands to look for something in his jacket's pocket, finally bringing up two envelopes - one that he handed to Louis.

His brown eyes scanned the object, and he rapidly felt something hard inside the piece of paper. Carefully opening the yellowish envelope, Louis found a key. And just as his eyes identified it, he knew this wasn't an ordinary key. This was one of his father's most priceless possessions, the key to the vault where he concealed his fortune – well, like he had told him when he was a little boy, France's fortune. That money Louis's father had in that vault could only be managed by the _King_; because Philippe was only a regent he never got to use any without supervision – another reason for him to want to be King.

And now, Louis was the King of France, which meant that he owned that fortune now.

Taking the piece of metal in his hands he smiled at the advisor, "I'll take good care of it."

The bald man nodded, "I know you will, son." And he then started to open the other envelope himself, instead of giving it to Louis. "Keep the envelope, who knows if you'll need it someday."

Louis felt like if keeping that old piece of paper was a bit senseless, but he decided to obey his orders – after bending it, he put it inside of his pocket along with the key.

"Here we are," continued the man, finally opening it and shaking the piece of paper in his hands – making two golden rings drop onto the desk. Louis frowned when he saw them, but not in sign of discomfort but in utter confusion. Why on earth would someone send him rings for? "A very important announcement." Smiled the elderly man, unfolding the paper to read it and putting on his reading glasses – Louis paying extra-attention to him.

But the man seemed to be reading it for himself as he muttered everything the letter said, Louis grew frustrated from waiting and this nerve-racking moment became unbearable. "What does it say?" He asked, trying not to sound too desperate and nervous.

"Well… It says to be hand over to you the day of your 18th birthday."

"That was yesterday –"

The man cut him off, "I know, I know." His brown eyes kept scanning the document, as the royal advisor it was his job to make things easier for the King – or at least that is what he considered what his job with Louis. "It says that now that you are legally an adult, _they_ consider you are mature enough and that it is time for you to seal your betrothal with their daughter Anne."

His eyes bulged out; his hands squeezed the edges of the chair's armrests, a knot formed in his throat and his stomach churned. Louis couldn't believe what he had heard. This couldn't be happening; not now! He couldn't be marrying anyone now – not when he was starting to fall in love. This had to be a mistake. But if it was a misunderstanding why his advisor seemed so calmed? And if this wasn't a mix-up then why didn't anyone ever tell him about this? After managing to take a deep breath, he handled to speak. "What?"

The other man looked at him as if he was acting weird, "Anne's late parents, they left this for you." He answered making it sound like if the young King knew what he was talking about – Louis couldn't feel any more puzzled.

The shock that had frozen his body was now turning into frustration, "Alright, first of all, who is this Anne?"

The advisor raised an eyebrow at him, "Anne of Austria," Yeah, like if telling him her second name would shed some light in this situation. Louis didn't know anyone named like that, and he would certainly remember her if he was engaged to her. "You two were betrothed when you were 11 years old." Alright… he remembered his father mentioning an Anne to him – but he had never heard of her since. "Her parents decided not to leave her here because you two were too young. But now, she's 18 as well and she is ready to become your wife and help you rule France." He finished his statement with a smile, noticing that Louis had taken this badly.

The brown-haired man looked down, "No," he muttered, and then he glared at the man, "I can't _marry_ her. I don't love her."

He slyly smiled again, "Your majesty, this is a commitment you made many years ago -"

Louis cut him off, "Yes, a commitment I don't even remember and that my father arranged when I was _kid_ -"

Then the advisor cut him off as well, "It is your duty as King to marry Anne; this is your honor and your integrity we are speaking of Louis. Your father chose a good wife for you; how would he feel if he knew you don't want to marry her?"

Well, that's a downer – Louis loved his father, and he knew that if he had chosen Anne it was because she really had a great family and a bright future but he couldn't do it… not after he had all these feeling for Corinne. Certainly, he was conscious about the situation he was at –a beautiful musketeer, the woman that could have any man she wanted, and he was starting to fall in love with her… but he was taking his chances.

"But sir, I don't even know her -"

The advisor rolled his eyes, taking the open envelope and placing the paper and the pair of rings inside again. "She'll be here tomorrow." He added, handing him the object.

Louis felt his heartbeat slowing down, Goosebumps running down his spine. "_What_?" He breathed, taking the envelope.

"Besides, after you get married you have your whole life to get to know her." The elderly man took a glimpse of his watch, "Oh my look at the time, I'm sorry son, I must be leaving." And leaving as fast as he could, almost like if he knew Louis wouldn't come to his senses, he left the boy without any other clue.

"But -"

And as the advisor closed the door a sudden burst of laughs was heard in the hall. And because he knew who they were, he jumped off his seat to look for them after he rapidly hid the envelope in his jacket's pocket – seeing Corinne again would surely make this day better. Yeah, he just needed some reassurance. He was the King now; he could do whatever he wanted. His advisor wasn't the boss of him.

But as he headed for the door, it sprung open. Treville didn't notice him standing there so he looked back to shush the girls. "Could you please keep it down?" he hissed before he started to walk inside. When he saw Louis he recoiled, "Oh!" he shouted, "Your majesty, I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to find you here."

Louis chuckled, opening the door for them to come in, "No worries, Monsieur Treville." He said as the girls walked into the office, "I was actually on my way out to find -" His eyes met with Corinne's, making him forget about what was he talking about.

So, closing the door again, he sat behind his desk. Treville sat on the other chair, clearing his throat to start explaining everything.

"So," Louis started, "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, your majesty…" Treville sighed, "Philippe has escaped." Louis gasped, fear already filling his chest. Philippe had tried to kill him, but the girls stopped him. He never did anything bad to him and Philippe wanted him dead, imagine what kind of things he would do now that he had sent him to jail! How could this day get any worse? First the thing with Anne and now this? "We also believe he kidnapped two of my male musketeers, only Austin escaped, but he's badly injured which makes it hard for him to fight."

Louis worried, only four musketeers to protect him – the best musketeers he had to admit, but how were they going to protect him and the castle? "That means the girls are the only musketeers available." Louis figured.

Treville nodded, "They are; and since they are the rightful persons to protect you from this imminent danger, they need to be here day and night." The King nodded, not understanding what Treville really meant. It was something he had supposed it would be the best to do, the castle was pretty big – it had lots of unused rooms, so he knew it wouldn't be much trouble for Louis; after all it was for his own protection. "Would you mind if the girls stay in the palace until we find Philippe?"

Louis heart skipped a beat, and he looked over the girls – who were also looking at each other, probably as shocked as him – this meant that he would get to see Corinne everyday… This meant that he would get to spend even more time with her!

"What do you think your majesty?" Treville's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Louis rapidly nodded, trying to find his voice again. "Well, Treville, I don't mind at all. I think it's up to them if they want to stay here."

The white-haired man nodded, "You're right," And looking to were the girls were standing, he asked them: "What do you say girls?"

Aramina giggled as she looked at Viveca who also laughed, staying in a castle – how could they refuse? Renee seemed a bit more serious about it, this was her job. And even when she was smiling a little, she was trying to keep her cool – this was one of the best days of her life. On the other hand, Corinne was flabbergasted. She was about to be living under the same roof with Louis – not that she minded, but she knew this could bring problems… And it was way too good to be true.

And because none of them had spoken, Renee nodded. "Anything to protect the King." She said.

Treville nodded again, standing up from his chair. "Very well then. I'll send someone to bring your things; you must not leave the castle under any circumstances. Am I clear?"

The girls nodded, and Louis stood up as well. "Why don't you go tell Hélène that you'll be staying here; she'll show you to your rooms."

And almost as if they had been sent away to a party, the girls ran out of the room – but Louis was agile enough to call Corinne before she left. "Corinne!"

She froze, looking back at him. "Yes, your majesty?"

Treville interrupted, it had been a long day and it was dark already – he had to be heading home as well. "I have to be leaving, your majesty."

"Take care Treville, if Philippe's out there he can harm anyone." Said Louis.

The white-haired man chucked as he nodded, "Thanks… and I can't say the same thing to you, Louis. You have four musketeers living in your home now – if you don't feel safe like that, I don't know how you will." Louis chuckled, and the older man looked at Corinne. "Take care of him."

"I will, sir. I will." She replied as he left, then she looked at Louis again.

"Corinne," he repeated, walking closer to her. "I just wanted to say that your mother left."

The girl's expression saddened, "Oh…" she said.

Louis instantly felt dreaded, "But she told me to let you know that she loves you very much."

She smiled at him, "Thanks." Of course, she felt happy her mother had said that – but she wished he had said it in another way… Just to make sure she wasn't getting all excited and enthusiastic with his obvious advances with her.

Louis suddenly felt so shy around her, and he still wanted to take that balloon ride. He needed to know for sure if she felt something for him, and he needed to do it before that Anne arrived. So, already sweating a bit, he started scratching his neck, "So… uh… What are you doing tomorrow?"

She chuckled, she knew what he was going to ask and she wondered why he was acting so shy – so she nodded at him. "Yes, I'd love to go on another balloon ride with you."

He gasped with joy, grinning. "**Great**!" he shouted, making her giggle. "I mean… I'll look for you tomorrow and we'll go."

Corinne nodded again, looking him straight in the eyes. "Sounds great, your majesty."

"Please, Corinne. Call me Louis."

"Right, because I saved your life." She recalled when he had first told her to call him like that.

They both laughed, their eyes meeting once more. But Corinne knew there was no need to hesitate this – and they were in the wrong place too – so trying not to ruin this beautiful moment. She knew it was better if she just left; besides, tomorrow was another day right? They would be alone in his hot-air balloon, they would have time to clear things up of they needed to.

"Louis…" she started, "I must be going."

He nodded, taking her hand like he did last time to say goodbye. He pressed his lips to the back of it and smiled at her. "Look for me if you need anything."

With that, she felt brave enough to stand on her tiptoes and kiss his cheek before leaving.

He stood there frozen, until Madame de Bossé interrupted him by announcing his cousin's arrival.

"Oh, this is so amazing!" shouted Aramina as she flung her arms in the air, "We're _living_ in the castle… just like princess's do!" Renee raised an eyebrow at her, Viveca sat on the bedside. "The only thing missing is a handsome prince…"

The one dressed in purple chuckled, "There **was** a handsome prince, now he's a handsome _King_."

The dark-haired girl rapidly interrupted, "And like I've said before, we are here to _protect_ that handsome King, not _date_ him."

And when she was about to reply to what Renne just said, the door of the elegant room opened, "Yeah, _except one of us_…" Viveca smirked when Corinne walked in.

"Corinne!" Yelled Aramina, "What did the King say?"

The blonde one froze, and faked a smile - fearing that her friends would say something. "What do you mean?" She asked, trying to sound like if she didn't know what they were talking about.

"He called you when we were leaving." Renne remarked.

Corinne sighed in her mind, "Oh! That… he just wanted to tell me that my mother had to leave."

The trio stared at her, and she almost freak out when she noticed that they were all smirking at her. "Anything else?" asked Viveca.

She shook her head and shrugged, "That was all."

"Then why are you blushing?" Asked Aramina as she pointed at Corinne's face.

She was blushing? "You are all acting weird;" The blue-eyed decided to ignore what her friends were assuming; it was none of their business anyway. "I think all of these sudden changes are getting to your heads."

Renne walked closer to her, "Come on Corinne, we know he likes you!"

She slightly gasped, "He does not! He's just being polite, he said it's because I saved his life twice."

"Aha!" Shouted Viveca, "So he **did** say something else."

And it was Aramina the next girl to gasp; she was the one who figured it out. "He asked you out again!"

Corinne frowned; this was her and Louis's problem. Besides, they didn't know what they were talking about… it was not a date. Ask her out? A **date** with the King of France? _Please_…

Then why did it sound like if she was lying to herself when she thought those things? Gah! She really needed to get some rest and think about all of this… Moreover, what were they doing in the room that had been given to her? "Why don't you all go to your rooms, as far as I know this one will be mine until we find Philippe."

It had been years since they've seen each other, but Louis could never forget his dear cousin. So even when he was still faraway, that blonde woman walking through the door immediately looked familiar. "You made it!" Louis shouted as he walked closer to her.

Anneliese gasped, "Louis!" She couldn't believe her eyes, "Oh my God! Look at you!"  
The new King greeted his cousin with a hug, "It's so good to see you…"

He couldn't remember much about her, they haven't shared in more than eight years, but it just felt good to know that he had family around him again. Still deeply wounded by Philippe's recent treachery, Louis needed to assure that he still had family that cared for him. So, with Anneliese here, he couldn't feel happier – plus, he'd need her advice with this whole Anne dilemma.

The blonde woman smiled, finally breaking their embrace. "It's good to see you too, Louis. And first of all, I'm terribly sorry for arriving this late -"

Louis shook his head, cutting her off. "Don't worry about it," he smiled, "You're here now."

"Well…" Anneliese started, grinning at him. She had so much to tell him, and this she knew it would take him by surprise. "I actually came here with my family."

And why was she saying that? He knew his aunt was coming too. "You mean Aunt Genevieve."

The blonde woman shook her head, "Actually she had to stay…"

He nodded, "Oh…"

And then she turned towards the door and motioned at someone to come in. A tall, blond man walked in – carrying a blue bundle in his arms. He smiled but Louis could feel he was a very bashful and caring man, a thing he remembered his cousin loved in people. Anneliese knew that Julian felt timid when it came meeting her family, so she rapidly placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "It's really been a long time."

Louis was baffled, and noticing that the bundle in the man's arms - that he now knew was Anneliese's husband - was actually a baby he nodded and felt a smile appearing in his face. "Indeed, it has!"

Then, Anneliese took the sleeping infant from Julian's arms to allow him to meet her cousin. "Julian, this is my cousin Louis." The blue-eyed man nodded, shaking the other's hand. "Louis, this is my husband Julian."

The King nodded again, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, King Louis." Replied Julian.

"Please Julian, call me Louis, we're family now." Chuckling, he nodded at Louis. "And I assume that little guy there is…"

Anneliese smiled, "He's our son, Adam. Do you want to see him?" She asked already starting to remove the blanket covering him, but Louis shook his head.

"It's been a long day for all of us, I'll meet him tomorrow."

She nodded, a plump redhead walking closer to where they were standing. "Your majesties," said Madame de Bossé as she bowed. Hélène joined her seconds after.

"Oh," said Louis, "She's Madame de Bossé; and she's Hélène." The pair of blondes nodded, "They'll be showing you to your room."

Madame de Bossé knew that if she didn't act fast, Hélène was going to make her carry the guests' luggage – so she stood in front of them ready to guide them. But Hélène was smarter, so without walking closer she talked first. "Follow me, your majesties."

And following the elderly woman, Anneliese and Julian looked back. "Good Night, Louis."

He smiled, "See you tomorrow."

Hélène waved at Madame de Bossé, "You know what to do." The redhead scowled and grunted.

In one of the most prestigious hotels in France, inside of the most expensive room, sitting in front of the fireplace drinking some tea was a blond, green-eyed man.

For him, it had been a slow and peaceful day – vacationing in Paris had not been a bad idea at all. This city held innumerable beauties, the view, the people, the culture... And even when he was having a wonderful time, he couldn't help but to keep reminding himself that the largest country in Western Europe would never be his!

But, hey, he was enjoying himself. Why remember the things that made him feel irritated?

And then, even when the man decided to calm down and take another sip of tea – a weird noise made him recoil in his seat.

It had come from the balcony of his room, so he placed the teacup on the coffee table in front of him and he stood up. Attentive to find whatever had caused the noise. Slowly a dark figure rose and grabbed the railings, finally walking closer to the door that led to his room.

The man frowned, good thing he hadn't changed and he still had his sword with him, and so grabbing his weapon he waited for the intruder to enter.

A man wearing a black cape, who was loudly panting, opened the door and walked in. When the other man pointed his sword at him, he raised his arms in the air defensively as he started to chuckle. Taking his hood off, "It's me." He said.

The man holding the sword sighed as he rolled his eyes and returned the weapon to its previous place. "_Philippe_," he smirked, "I didn't expect to see you around here." He walked closer to shake his hand.

"I have to say to say the same; I wasn't planning to visit you tonight." Replied the brown-haired man.

"Come, sit down." Said the blonde one, pointing at the pair of seats in front of the fireplace. "You know there's a front door." he chuckled, "My men know you; they would have allowed you to come in."

Philippe nodded as he sat, "I know, and I appreciate that confidence you have in me, it is for that same reason that I'm here."

The blond man raised one of his eyebrows, Philippe had told him that he was going to be crowned King today – although, he heard Prince Louis was now the King. He had bragged about how infallible his plan was, he had repeated it over and over – almost every time he visited him. Yet, here he was… He looked tired, dirty, he was almost sure that new stench in his room was coming from him and he hadn't mentioned anything about that. "What are you saying? Did your plot failed?'"

Those simple questions seemed to have triggered a wave of awful emotions in Philippe, he had never seen him scowling so hard. "Do you see a crown upon my head?" Hissed the man as he glared at the blond – cheeks turning red with anger. "Have you heard the news of the tragic death of the young prince?" And even when Philippe's expression was obviously an infuriated one, the other man stood calmed – making Philippe cool down a bit. Dropping his head in defeat and sighing he continued, "No… it didn't work. Everything went downfall, and all because of those little wenches! Especially that _Blondie_, if it wasn't for her Louis would be dead right now!"

"First of all, calm down, Philippe." Started the blond, "You know how much I hate to be around fretful persons. And secondly, you haven't responded to my question."

The brown haired man rolled his eyes, trying to remember what the blond had asked.

The green-eyed sighed, figuring his friend must have been too angry to recall it. "Why did you sneaked in?"

Philippe's eyes bulged out, the answer to that infuriated him. "They are looking for me!" he shouted, clearly panicking. "Those girls discovered everything about my plan! And now every guard in France is searching for me." As he finished yelling this at the other man, he finally took a deep breath.

On the other hand, a smirk had appeared on the blond man's face. Philippe clearly needed his help, and perhaps he could take advantage of this situation…

"I see…" he added, placing a finger on his chin as he thought… "That's means you need my help, don't you?"

Philippe rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately, it would be nice at the moment."

He chuckled, "Very well then… How about if we renew our old deal?"

And before he could finish explaining, Philippe already knew what he wanted and he was not going to get it. They had discussed this a long time ago; when Louis's father had just died and he had become his regent, but he remembered that he never agreed to do anything. "It was never a deal."

"But perhaps now it can be, my friend." He quickly replied, gazing at his friend. "I'll help you get rid of Louis; I'm also offering you protection and the tools to accomplish your goal. You have to pay me somehow…"

Philippe analyzed the man's face; a great offer indeed, but getting rid of Louis wouldn't make him King, not after everyone in France was aware of what he did. Right now, he only wanted the same thing this fellow did – if he had the chance to be King he would have agreed, but because he had lost that chance his offer seemed useless to him. "Killing Louis won't make me King anymore. I don't win anything by doing that; I just need that key -"

"_Revenge_, my friend." He cut him off again, "You'll destroy him, the way he destroyed you." The smirk on the green-eyed man grew. "And you can still take the key, take his fortune, share it with me, and leave France without any hope!"

It sounded like an amazing plan indeed, and he was a very resentful man – besides, he really had nothing left to lose. But the bare thought of sharing his price with this man was enough to make him resist from accepting his offer again. "I don't see how stealing Louis's fortune would make France crumble."

The enthusiasm instantly disappear from the other man's face, Philippe could be so obstinate and closed-minded when he wanted to. And right now, he just didn't want to see what a great chance he was giving him.

"Philippe," he started, "It would leave him feeling insecure and scared, it would leave him without anything to rely on… Anyway, how are you planning to get that key without _my_ help?"

Now, Philippe smirked, feeling his chest fill with pride. This next thing he was about to confess was surely going to impress his _friend_. "As a matter of fact, I have two **musketeers** to do that for me." He raised an eyebrow at Philippe, a confused expression on his face. "That's right, I kidnapped two of Monsieur Treville's musketeers and they are now under my command."

And when Philippe finished gloating, he burst out laughing. "You're insane," he snickered harder, "What makes you think that they'll obey you?"

The brown-haired man frowned at the other, how he hated to be underestimated! Especially by people like him. So he frowned, crossing his arms in top of his chest. "Do you have any more ideas?" And even though he really wanted to make a fool out the other man by making him realize his plan was the only one available, he gradually stopped laughing as he finally nodded.

"Of course I do." He said, cleaning some of his tears with his sleeves. "_But_ -"

Philippe cut him off, "There's a catch."

"Exactly…" He smirked, taking a more serious attitude again. "What I win protecting and helping you? You were the one who came to me for help anyway."

Philippe knew he was right, but he wasn't going to let him win. "I came here just to get some advice."

"My time is money, Philippe." He abruptly stated, "And right now I've wasted a lot."

He sighed; he really, really needed this man's help. He was the only one who could help him at the moment, also the only one who was willing to do it. So, if he wanted his help he had to think of a way of getting away with what he wanted but leaving something to pay off his debt. Something he wouldn't need of course, something that would be useless to him when he was done with this. Philippe's goal was very simple; get that key and getaway with the fortune. In this plan there was no fit for his friend, and sharing was not an option. He just required anything to make this fool shut up when they were done.

**But** – if maybe he added the idea of getting even with his little cousin he could figure something out… If he harmed or got rid of Louis, there would be nobody else left to take the throne. He'd steal the fortune… This would leave the French people without a leader… and eventually without economic support. France would crumple upon itself if he did this!

Philippe smirked, "What if I pay you with something that is not exactly money…"

His friend raised an eyebrow, this new offer sounded much better – at least he was saying he'd pay him. "I'm listening…"

"Help me make Louis surrender that key," He nodded, "Help me make him suffer, help me take him down…"

The blond nodded again, "I like your thinking, but what do I -"

Philippe cut him off, already knowing what he would ask. "Afterwards, you can take over France." And that left the man without words, his whole stiffened – he couldn't believe his ears. His brown-eyed friend felt accomplished, "Well, why say take over France? Without a leader and without money, they'd beg you to rule them."

The green-eyed grinned, this was perfect. Perhaps, too good to be true. "And how are you planning to make all of this happen?"

"You'll see…"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_I know, a very long first chapter wasn't it?_

_But that's the way they are turning out to be, I'm thinking about making it my trademark. But, seriously, if you don't like long chapters don't hesitate to tell me! I really do my best when writing stories and I love to know that people actually enjoy them – so if something bothers you, here I am :)_

_Like Alexandre Dumas and Mattel used Louis XIII character in their respective works, I am also using him and Anne of Austria in this fic. The only historical fact in this story is their betrothal, other than that everything else is purely fictional. I don't intend to offend anything or anyone by using her character – like I said this is only for fun._

_I do own Louis's adviser and the blonde green-eyed man who joined Philippe in his quest for revenge. I have a name but, to be honest, I don't really like it. Evil Spanish man? Any suggestions? And yes, if you haven't figured it out yet he is Spanish – two reasons: my roots and of course if he has to say something in his language it will be easier for me to come up with something xD And no, I am not implying that people from Spain are evil._

_Oh! This is also my first time writing with/for Barbie and The Three Musketeers' characters, so if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me. Something I wanted to add is that I know Corinne was a bit shy in this chapter – she's falling in love so… be sure to keep that in mind. But she won't be that way all the time._

_I know there's not much romance in this chapter, this was more like to start building the story – but Corinne and Louis's date is coming… so stay tuned for the next chapter and check out what happens with these two ;) AND I hate that there isn't a lot of my favorite Barbie couple here too, but there will be in the next chapters! I promise! _

_There is still a lot of drama to come, more problems will surge. I'm only telling you this so you won't think that because this chapter was so long I gave it all away just to get over with it. And trust me, I've planned a lot for this story – and it's not based on anything, it's just my mind so I am adding things every time I work on it. There will be something that is not entirely mine, but you'll see ;D_

_So, if you read it you have time to review! Please. It's great to get feedback when you work on something that is this long xD But really, reviews are fuel to my mind – and my hands – and they mean the world to me. _

_Many thanks to CleoCorinne for helping me with the title and Barbiegirl2435 for inspiring me! You guys rock!_

_Hope you are enjoying this story, and thanks for reading!_


	2. Right Where It Belongs

Everything's Not Lost by **Shadowgirl416**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I am not making any profit writing this._

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Right Where It Belongs**_

Eyes wide open at all time, every odd sound had to be identified immediately, every being and thing that wanted to come into the castle's territory rapidly examined – some would say that they were exaggerating by doing all of this, they had barely spent a day in the castle, but as new musketeers they couldn't afford to fail at any cost.

All four girls woke up early in the morning so they could guard the place; Monsieur Treville had sent to double the guards around the palace. The girls just needed to protect the King, but they still were taking drastic measures. They had decided to keep an eye on every corner of the castle's territory, so they were moving from room to room during the day. They had taken a telescope from King Louis's library to make sure there was nothing weird going on.

"Do you see anything?" asked Viveca, walking closer to Renée.

"Nope," Replied the dark-skinned girl, moving away from the telescope placed on the windowsill. "Nothing suspicious."

Aramina yawned, they had been 'guarding' the castle long enough to make her grow bored. Even she knew that it would be stupid of Philippe to be hiding around here. She stood up from the seat to stretch, "Why do you think Philippe would be hiding near the castle, anyway?"

Renée replied, "He could be preparing to attack anytime."

Viveca had been asking herself the same question since they began their watching. "I agree with Aramina; it's too obvious!" Renée still seem to doubt them, "Philippe is not even close; he'll be here when he's ready to attack."

So the only girl thinking that Philippe was somewhere near the palace tried to defend her supposition. "Hey, I'm just being precocious. This is literary our first mission as musketeers, do you want to fail at it?"

That question made the other girls look at each other, their friend was in fact right. What if they laid back and Philippe managed to get in? He'd surely go straight for Louis. Aramina worried; her eyes wide and her jaw slightly plunged. "King Louis could die…" She remarked.

"And it would be our fault…" The redhead added with the same dreadful tone. She walked over the telescope and grabbed it. "I'll take a look."

Renée started to walk around the room, her body was tense and her mind racing – she never thought she'd be this nervous. It seemed easy; all they had to do was protect King Louis. But she knew it wasn't as simple as that. Philippe had lots of allies when he tried to murder Louis, even when most of them where captured he could have more of them somewhere else. Dangerous enemies, deadly partners and for all the girls knew even spies that were already in the castle… She was not taking any chances, they had worked so hard to make their dream come true and she wasn't going to allow an arrogant man take it all away just like that. "We should train." She commented, taking a gasp from Viveca.

"Are you nuts?" She chuckled, still looking through the telescope. "I don't know about you girls, but I ate like crazy this morning."

Aramina agreed, "Yeah, I've never seen so much food in my whole life."

And Renée nodded as well, this morning had been a very interesting one.

Hélène woke them up, and she said that their breakfast was ready. But none of the girls could have ever imagined what was waiting for them downstairs. First they were shocked to know that they were going to eat in the same room King Louis and every other member of the French Royal family had eaten. It was way too early to actually be with Louis while he ate as well, but they still felt extremely excited to know. Then, like the guests they were, almost the entire dinner table was covered with food. This made the girls remember when they used to work in the castle, cleaning everything. And that sometimes included doing the dishes – so they had an idea of how much food the guests and owners of this castle had enjoyed. "Yeah, me either."

"Well, I have." Said Viveca as she retreated from the window, recalling the times she had watched rich people eating at gatherings and things like that. "The big difference today is that it was for us."

The trio laughed together; they could all agree on something, they were enjoying staying at the palace.

Renée sighed, "That was only for us and we are only employees. Just imagine what King Louis has for breakfast every day!"

It surprised Viveca and Aramina to just picture that, "I know!" One of them said.

"That's why the table must be that large, these royals don't know any moderation!"

The redhead nodded and her expression saddened at bit, "I'd feel lonely if I had to eat there all alone."

The brown haired one shook her head, "He's not alone; his cousin and her husband are with him today."

And the one dressed in blue smirked, "Plus, he has another special guest today…" The other two copied Renée's smirk, a special guest indeed.

"Yeah, that _Anne_ must be so well-mannered." Aramina remarked.

The ones with darker skin frowned at her; sometimes their friend was so high on cloud nine that she forgot about the subject being discussed. "We mean Corinne."

"Ah! Right." The younger one rapidly muttered, trying to hide the fact that she had mentioned someone that the other girls didn't know about yet.

But Viveca was so distracted remembering the moment that she decided to let it go, "Louis called Monsier Treville this morning and asked for Corinne to be his personal bodyguard." She had to repeat it out loud; it was just so cute of him to do that. "Now she must be with him at all times!"

Aramina squealed with delight, it was so romantic! She was so happy for her!

"Yeah… that's so sweet." Renée said, but she did notice that her redheaded friend mentioned someone unknown to them. "Who is Anne anyway?"

That question made the girls look at their hopeless romantic friend again, who noticed their stares and had to admit what she had done to know about this 'Anne'. "Okay, okay…I was sneaking." But her friend's expressions told her that they had already figured that part out, so Aramina sighed and she was aware that she had to spit it all know or they would make her. "This _Anne_ and King Louis were betrothed when they were kids, and now she's coming over to marry him."

Silence, "What?" Breathed Viveca.

Renée scoffed, "Yeah, right. That's baloney, Aramina!"

"That's what I heard."

"Oh, poor Corinne! She must be devastated!" Added Viveca, placing her hand on top of her mouth as Aramina nodded.

* * *

So many spoons and forks, and all of them just to eat her breakfast? Was she supposed to use them all? Or were they just options?

She tried to catch a glimpse at what Louis was doing. It shouldn't have been so hard; he was sitting almost by her side after all. But she was afraid he'd notice, she was afraid he'd think she was stupid or not well educated. But how was she supposed to know what to do with all that silverware?

But she wasn't really hungry anyways; she had breakfast earlier with the girls. If she had known Monsieur Treville was coming to tell her that she was the King's new bodyguard and that she would be having breakfast with him every morning until this Philippe problem was over, then she would have saved some space. But that didn't happen.

Her boss came into her room and ordered her to get dress just some minutes after she returned from having breakfast, his plain and straight words caught her off-guard.

_'King Louis has requested a personal bodyguard; I think is an excellent idea and he chose you.' _Her mind went blank, her whole body froze. '_Well, get dressed. From now on, you're going to have to burn the candle at both ends to do your job properly.'_

With that, he left. With the weird encourage from her friends, she dressed and walked downstairs again. And somehow Corinne had found nerve to greet the King and his guests – being rapidly invited by them to sit.

The other blonde woman eating at the other side of the long wooden table immediately broke the silence, "So, Corinne," She started, putting down her fork. "I heard you were from Gascony. How is it there?"

"It's quite different from here, you highness." She quickly responded, it was really the first thing that popped into her head. "Just farms and nature as far as the eye can see."  
Anneliese nodded and smiled at her, "I also heard your father was the great D'Artagnan."

The girl grinned and nodded, "Indeed, he was."

Louis joined the conversation; he never met Corinne's father, he didn't met his neither – but from what people said, they had been two outstanding men. "And Corinne's a great musketeer just like he was."

She wasn't sure if she blushed, but her hands started to sweat when she smiled at Louis.

He noticed that she had barely touched her food, "You're not hungry?" he asked.

The girl thought about what she was going to reply before she said anything. Lying wouldn't make any sense at this point; she wasn't being forced to eat. But even when in other occasions she could have been able to at least pretend she had eaten something, this time her stomach felt like it had been knotted from the inside. "Not really, I ate earlier with the girls."

The King nodded, and the calmness in the room was again interrupted – this time by a loud and high squeal. They were both drawn to look for the source of the sound, except for Anneliese who knew who was doing it.

So she stood up from her chair, "Excuse me... Julian was supposed to be watching him…" The other two people chuckled, and she almost ran out of the room.

Now, left all alone with Louis, Corinne started to feel nervous. She left home and came to Paris all alone, she started working in a place she barely even knew and stayed in the home of three total strangers, she even defeated a whole gang of criminals led by Philippe – and still, just being with King Louis made her feel like the most defenseless person in the world. Even though, she always tried to hide it.

The man cleared his throat and put aside the flatware he'd been using. "So, Corinne," He started, making the girl turn to face him again, "I hope you don't feel annoyed with the fact that you'll be my personal guard now. It wasn't a hasty decision." He had thought about how was he going to tell Monsieur Treville all night long.

The look on his face made her think he was actually scared of what her answer might be, he actually wanted to know what she felt about a decision he – the King – had made. Realizing that this whole 'personal bodyguard' thing wasn't going to be what she had thought she was even starting to feel optimistic about it.

She grinned, showing a bit of more confidence than before. "I don't mind at all, it's the greatest honor a musketeer could achieve." And she had reached it just a couple of days after being named a musketeer, if her father could see her now… he'd be so proud.

Louis stood up from his chair, the worry now gone from his face. "Good," he said. "Then… since you'll have to be with me no matter what happens for now, why don't we take that balloon ride today?"

Corinne's eyes doubled in size, she had forgotten! How could she forget something this important? She nervously chuckled and nodded her head, then reached to take the hand Louis had offered to her.

Corinne felt like if she had suddenly forgotten how to talk; she wasn't really sure why was Louis guiding her with his hand, but it was making the butterflies in her stomach go nuts.

Once they were outside and facing Louis's magnificent invention, he released her hand and walked over the contraption. "I made a few adjustments last night." He pointed out, showing with his hands that he had in fact made some changes to it.

Corinne watched in delight, the wicker basket was certainly bigger than when she first rode the balloon with him, the balloon filled with hot air was larger too and it was now more complicated to control, she figured, since he had added more strings to increase and decrease the heat that was directed to it. "Last night?" She repeated, and eventually figured that if he spent a whole night doing this and the night before that morning had been the one when they were assigned to stay in the castle then he barely slept. "You didn't sleep?"

The young King shrugged, trying to lie. "I wasn't tired…" He was tired, but he wanted this day to be perfect so tired Louis couldn't beat excited Louis last night.

"Oh," She walked closer to him, "I think it's wonderful what you did."

Louis smiled, "Want to be the first person, other than me, to try it?"

The girl grinned, "I'd be honored."

He jumped in and offered his hands to help her get into the basket too. Corinne took his hands and felt how easily he lifted her. After a quick pulling of strings, fire and hot air, the basket left the ground and Corinne found herself leaning on the rim of the hot air balloon. Once again, she felt her chest being filled with adrenaline as she saw how the palace decreased in size in a matter of minutes.

Time passed very fast when they were staring down at the little houses under them and the ant-like people. This was something many persons would never be able to enjoy, but thanks to Louis this was her second balloon ride. The difference this time was the he wasn't hanging from the balloon and he couldn't make fun of her anymore.

He still remembered when he did that, the memory haunted him every day. It didn't matter how many times he said he was sorry he still felt awful to have said that. And the scenario reminded him of the moment. However, this time he had to eat his words, the girl he had mocked was dressed with her musketeer uniform.

Louis cleared his throat, dragging Corinne out of her thoughts. "I-I hope you didn't had anything else to do today."

The girl shook her head, "Other than making sure you're safe, nothing else."

The King smiled, "Good," And he leaned on the rim beside her, his elbow almost touching hers, "I want to show you something."

"Really?" She squealed, clearing her throat to dissimulate her excitement. "What is it?"

The young man grinned, "A very special place that means a lot to me."

The blonde girl grinned back, her light blue eyes somehow finding their way into Louis's brown ones again. It made her knees grow weak to have him so close, but that was something she was certainly working hard to hide. So she turned away, her gaze returning to the beautiful view beneath them. Louis once again had to swallow his feelings, just when he had her right in front of him fear conquered his body. Why was this so hard?

"Wow," Breathed the girl by his side, "This view still leaves me breathless."

"Yeah…" He quickly answered, but he never moved his eyes to see what view she was talking about. The new King was breathless with the view he had as well, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen – right in front of him. The sun caught in her pale blonde hair, her curious blue eyes scanning the world as they flew above it… she was simply perfect. There was nobody else in this world that he would rather be with right now. If he could just tell her how he felt, only then he could hold her in his arms and kiss her like he had dreamed since the first time they met. But it seemed that his gaze held so many emotions and Corinne soon noticed that he was staring at her. He rapidly chuckled, "Uh, me too."

* * *

At last, he made it. He was in Paris. And he had to admit it was as beautiful as he'd always heard, he would have loved to be able to stop by and enjoy the place – but he wasn't here as a tourist. And now that he had spotted that peculiar poster with a too familiar face on it, he _really_ needed to stop acting like a visitor and start hiding.

How was it even possible for the news to spread this fast? He had escaped yesterday! And they already knew that here, in Paris?

Yet, as much as Preminger was starting to worry, he decided to just flip his hood on and continue to walk. It had been almost two years since he had actually paced around somewhere with so many people surrounding him, being in locked away in those dirty old stinking dungeon cells sure made him realize how priceless freedom was. How good was to feel the sunshine on his face again, and to be able to go where you wanted when you wanted. And it was all because of that stupid brat that he had lost all of that! Not to mention her dear husband!

But hey, he was going to get them. He had to be patient thought; Nick and Nack had disappeared after he was arrested. His only minions, gone. Maybe dead, maybe hiding as well. He didn't care; he didn't need those fools anyway. All he needed was his brilliant mind to succeed, right?

But now that he thought about it… how was he going to make that pair of blondes pay?

He didn't have any money or weapons. He didn't even know anybody in this whole city. The only thing he had was their location… but not even access to be close to where they were. His thirst for revenge was the only thing fueling his will, but that wasn't enough to fulfill his wish.

Whoa –

Pulled from his thoughts, he froze.

"_Oh, no!"_ Preminger mentally whined.

A hooded man, standing right in front of him holding a paper – and that smirk that appeared on his face could only mean one thing.

"You must be Preminger…" said the man, holding the paper higher to compare the picture on it with his face.

The amber eyed one gulped; that was it. This stranger had recognized him. His whole plan had already failed and he hadn't even been able to start! He was going straight to the dungeon – or worse, the death sentence could be the next thing waiting for him. His hands started to sweat, his legs to shake as his eyes desperately looked for a solution. Maybe he could run, intimidate the man, or maybe deny the accusation… Gah! Who was he kidding? It was impossible for him to do any of those things…

And as he stood there frozen by fear, he caught a glimpse of another poster just behind this caped man. Preminger wasn't sure if it was his own desperation that was making him see things, but he could swear that the man putting him at risk was just as wanted as he was. So he tried to squint his eyes as fast as he could to read the name, just to put the brown eyed man on the same spot he was at.

A huge weight lifted from his shoulders when he saw that the face in that other poster was a perfect match, and trying to sound calm as menacing as he could he replied, "And you must be… Philippe…"

That made Philippe gasp, how did he knew? And because Preminger noticed how surprised the other man felt he pointed at the 'wanted-poster' that was glued to the wall behind him.

Philippe instantly frowned, and dropped his shoulders in defeat. He was awful at this evil thing. So, he hid the paper that had Preminger's face inside one of his pockets and decided to make peace with this _gentleman_ – greeting him by shaking his hand.

"Nothing personal," said the dark-haired one, "But the reward would have been convenient right now."

Preminger nodded, feeling more relaxed. "I agree; turning you in would have been a great start for me in this city." Philippe chuckled, rolling his eyes. And the one wearing a powered-white wig was already plotting to use this newfound acquaintance. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Philippe. But I just read you are King Louis's cousin." He pointed at the poster again.

He grunted in response, starting to walk. "Sadly, I am."

Preminger followed him, still a bit confused. "You tried to kill him," He had just read as well, "And being part of the Royal French family is a pretty high position. Why throw away everything you already had?" He just had to ask, he would have done anything to be part of a royal family. Not be just part of an ordinary family and then climb up to _serve_ the royals.

Philippe rolled his eyes again, he had just met this guy and he was already asking some deep questions… he was smart. So he answered him with something that would make Preminger know that he also knew things about him. "The same reason _you_ threw away your reputation after you tried to kill the princess and marry her mother,"

And in unison, they both finished Philippe's sentence. "To be King."

It had been almost two years since he had attempted that, was that still a popular scandal? Was he known for other things than being the most handsome man to be imprisoned? "How do you know about my crime?"

Philippe didn't hesitate to reply, newcomers were always shocked when people from around here knew things like this. "News spread rapidly and that was a couple of years ago. You aren't on that little mountain top anymore, this is Paris."

He nodded, looking around once again. The tall and beautifully designed buildings this great city held simply in its town made Queen Genevieve's entire kingdom look like a dumpster – or so he thought. And his new _buddy_ was right, this was Paris. One of the most famous places, one of the most protected places also. "Which also means that we must be careful." Preminger continued, "Guards are on the look for us."

Like if a pair of cloaked figures walking around the streets wouldn't catch anyone's attention, Philippe thought. Although, with the entire daily ruckus around here, who would bother to stop someone just out of suspicion? "So you **are** running away," It wasn't a question, but more of a reminder for him. "Now, I wonder Preminger, why would you come to a place like Paris to hide? This is one of the most crowded cities in Europe."

The smaller one frowned, "I'm not escaping or hiding from anything;" It bothered him how people had always underestimate him, "I am actually here for some payback."

Philippe chuckled, "Are the lucky people here?"

After confirming Philippe's guess, he scoffed. "Taking a vacation with their little offspring." All happy with their little kid - **too** happy he would say. They messed the plan he had been working on for years. It took him almost a decade to steal all that gold from the mine by nights and to gain all that trust the Queen had in him. And just when he is about to succeed, they come and throw his hard work away in a matter of days. Oh, how he wanted to see them pay! But despite his longing he just didn't see a way to get to them yet.

Then again, perhaps his good luck was returning. Maybe meeting Philippe, King Louis's cousin, wasn't such a bad thing. He just had to think harder, he was an evil mastermind after all. This man he had just met was the closest thing the actual King of France had to a father; he wanted revenge as well, and he knew everything about King Louis's palace! Accidentally, he had found the one person that was perfect to complete his plan. "Speaking of this, I could use your help."

The brown-haired man frowned; people were getting used to take advantage of him. "Why?" He asked with an annoyed tone of voice.

"_They_ are staying at your little cousin's castle…"

Right! Why he didn't remember that before! The girl who Preminger tried to kill was Louis's cousin. That's how he received the news in the first place, and then of course the gossip ran all over town. Preminger needed his help, just like he had needed Tiago's. "I see…"

"Yeah, I need to know the palace's weak spots. You know, places where guards don't check on too often, maybe somewhere where I could sneak in..."

Philippe ignored what Preminger had asked, he could spend all day speaking about the castle's 'weak-spots'. The old thing was full of secrets passageways. He was more interested in knowing what this man really wanted. And he was asking to sneak into the palace; it was too obvious what he wanted then. "Then what you have in mind is not only a punishment?"

"Oh, it will be a punishment, just not the classical one."

Was this man insane? He was talking about 'punishing' a young pair of spouses with a little kid; even **he** considered that to be an outrageous idea. "You do realize their son is just a baby, right?"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't use him." Preminger noted how Philippe was reacting to his plan. If he thought he was a bit on the crazy side then he wouldn't help him, and besides he wasn't going to harm the little kid. "I could even keep him after I'm done with everything, you know." Yeah, a servant, a child to raise as his own – he wouldn't grow up with his good looks but at least he'd have a nice personality. Philippe seemed to be more calmed now, revenge was one thing and in-humanness was another. "I would name him Pappo, the son I never wanted."

The men shared a laugh, and after sighing and noticing that they were heading closer to Philippe's destiny, he decided that Preminger was the man he needed with them. "You are quite an evil mastermind, Preminger." He was smart, witty, and evil and had what he considered a great sense of humor. Tiago was going to love him; he would make a wonderful fool. "In fact, I think that if we worked together we could kill two birds with one stone." Preminger cocked an eyebrow; he wasn't expecting the offer this fast. And as Philippe took some keys out of his pocket to open a door he continued to explain. "My friend is interested in taking over France."

He opened the door of the place, the older man then noticed that Philippe had brought him to a back street; dark, quiet and almost empty. The houses around them were almost falling upon themselves, some abandoned and others just owned by poor owners. But then the King's cousin opened the door of the building they were about to enter, a way too familiar smell penetrated his nostrils.

An vintage beverage, he could tell. Scottish vintage wine, his favorite. It had been years since he had enjoyed that unforgettable and unique smell, back when he was the Queen's right hand. But if they were in that hole, where the poorest of the poor lived, how was it possible for someone to have such a drink there? "And who is this friend of yours?" Preminger asked as Philippe closed the door behind them, talking about this and having neighbors was a huge risk to take.

"His name is Tiago."

"The King of Spain?"

"That's him," Confirmed Philippe, "You know how kings are, always wanting to extend their territory." Preminger nodded, still doubting that a King could be involved in such dirty business. "The thing is that we have a deal, he helps steal Louis's father's fortune and he'll take over France."

Before he asked how they were going to do this, Preminger chose to explore his own interests. "And where do I fit into all of this?'

Philippe walked over a table and served two glasses of that odorous wine, "Three heads think better than just two." And handing one of the glasses to Preminger he gestured the man to sit on one of the shabby couches in the room. "Plus, you already know too much. I can't let you go somewhere else knowing what we are up to."

"I can help," Preminger started, taking a sip of wine, "But won't this 'Tiago' mind if I join?" He was willing to help; he would get what he wanted – revenge. But maybe this King would think that he was after something else, when he just truly wanted the pair of blondes to pay. "He will think that I want a part of what you two are after."

Philippe drank his glass in one gulp, "And who said you can't win something more than satisfaction as well?" The white-haired man raised an eyebrow. He couldn't ask to be King, they wouldn't be able to make him King if they were not in their kingdom. He couldn't ask for money, because they were far from home. And even if he was able to ask because King Louis would help them, his fellows wouldn't allow it because that would be deducting from _their_ winnings. Yet, Philippe continued to speak. "Vienna's Queen,"

"Half of Vienna's Queen." Preminger corrected.

"It's the same, she owns the entire place since Anne of Austria's parents died. Anyway, her only family is here, miles and miles away from her. Don't you think she'd give you anything to protect them if you were to harm them?"

The other rolled his eyes, thinking that the idea seemed senseless. "King Louis protects them, and if not Queen Genevieve would send her whole army to get them back."

The answer slipped from his mouth, wanting to awaken Preminger's interest. "Not if that army is unable to reach them."

And f worked, "Keep going…" He said, taking a sip from his glass.

"Well, other than not telling on me. Tiago has promised protection - you're with us so you are untouchable. We have the entire Spanish army in our side. You just take one of them and the other two will come after, get the old lady to give you all the fortunes you want, eliminate them and then start a new life faraway from here."

"Well that escalates quickly." Preminger thought out loud, it seemed too easy. And for him, easy was boring. But being realistic, he was being forced to do it. If he said that he wasn't going to do it, Philippe could have him killed in just minutes because he knew about Tiago and his plan. He'd be a dead man anyway. If he walked away how was he going to get his revenge all alone? He'd just rot in a dungeon for the rest of his life if he tried. Plus, he didn't have anything else to lose.

"Do we have a deal?" Asked the man on his side

Preminger smirked, he was even starting to feel like his old self – and even better. "How can I refuse?"

* * *

"We're here."

Corinne looked at Louis, who was gazing at the place with wide and shiny eyes, doubt and confusion filling hers. They weren't so far from the palace, but the place where Louis had decided to land the hot air balloon looked like if it hadn't even been discovered yet.

Nature and the obvious absence of human presence had taken their tolls on the place. Up on a lonely hill was an enormous building, old and abandoned – hidden by all the trees and vegetation surrounding it. By its front door hanged a sign that was so dirty that it was impossible to see what was written on it. Seeing the broken glass of the windows, the plants growing everywhere and the horrible state the structure was in – Corinne couldn't figure out why Louis would consider this place to be special.

As he jumped off, and offered his help to her, she had to ask. "This is your special place?"

Chuckling a bit, Louis nodded. "Don't jump to conclusions so quickly, Corinne." He had figured she'd say something like this, it was no wonder. But she didn't gave him the chance to explain why it was so special to him. So he guided her towards the building, he pushed the front door open. It didn't even need a key.

With the creak of the door several birds that had been calmly resting inside of the place flew away startled, dust and feathers in the air. The sunlight entered the main room through the cracks on the walls, although the tall book-racks that covered most of the walls made it impossible for more light to come in. Noticing the large amount of dirty and moldy books in the racks, she assumed this place had been a library once. And judging by the quantity of abandoned books then it most had been a very potent library.

She looked at Louis and was surprised to see the watery eyes of the King; she placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is where my parents first met." He muttered.

Her heart shrank for a moment, she knew Louis was different to most of the men she'd known but she never expected him to be this sentimental. "That's so sweet."

Looking around the room, remembering how each object still present used to be, Louis sighed. It had been years since he visited this place, last time he came it was still open to the public. It could seem kind of lame, even boring, but he knew that Corinne would understand more than anyone why he felt so attached to it. She was the first person he'd known who saw the world the same different way he did. "This place used to be the biggest library in France. They used to spend a lot of time here before they got engaged." Corrine smiled, picturing in her head everything Louis said. "But that's not what we came here for."

Without hesitation, the King walked to a specific bookshelf. He grabbed a book, and behind that book was a handle. The entire bookshelf started to move, it was a secret passage! Just like in the castle! No wonder Louis's dad liked this place.

He waved his hand to make her follow him; it took her to be blinded by the light of the sun to realize this secret passageway led outside.

It happened like magic, she was standing in the middle of an abandoned library and suddenly she was standing on a beautiful balcony. But that's not what made the young musketeer gasp, it was the view the place offered. Located on top of a hill, it was like seeing Paris from the sky all over again. Just that this time it was more realistic because she saw much more than just the ceiling of the buildings and the houses. She could even see the sun hiding behind the clouds just on top of the city. It was the most amazing thing she'd seen in her whole life. Definitely a moment she was going to remember forever.

"I used to come here every day with my father when I was a kid," Louis's voice broke her trance and made her come back to earth. He placed his elbows on the top of the railings for support as he continued. "Even though I was very young, I still remember the stories he used to tell me while we stood here." Corinne took a deep breath, happiness overwhelming her. The amazing place combined with Louis's calming voice just made her so… happy. "He used to tell me that my mother was up in the sky, that she was watching us. That's one of the reasons for me to want to build a flying machine." The girl chuckled, her heart beating faster – and she thought she was the only one that wished to make her parents proud. "When I was little I thought that if I ever built one I would be able to visit my parents. Then of course, I grew up and realized that that wasn't possible."

"But you still built the flying machine." Corinne remarked, "Your parents must be very proud."

"Yours too…" They smiled at each other, hearts pounding in their heads.

* * *

Not now. Not today. Not in this place.

The princess ran through the halls of the palace, it was bigger than her own or just too unknown to know if she had already checked the same place. Nevertheless, she continued to search for her baby. For her hyperactive baby.

She still wondered how he had managed to escape from their room, she turned her back on him for a minute and he was gone! She was even starting to worry, it was unlikely that any shatter had interrupted the silence of the place – with Adam on the loose, everything fragile was at risk. Still, not a sound. Not even a giggle or babble.

The worst thoughts started to sneak into her head; what if he was hurt? What if he had gone outside? What if someone had captured him? And every other question just came worse than the other.

It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice followed by an also familiar chuckle that she felt a bit relieved. And after feeling the light but fast steps coming from behind her, a flash of light blond hair caught her eyes – and Anneliese didn't vacillated, she ran behind the toddler.

On the other hand, her husband had been following – well, _chasing_ – Adam for a long time. So he had grown tired, gasping for air. Adam wasn't that fast, but he was so small that he kept hiding from him and suddenly running away when he was getting closer to find him. He'd hide under any table, under any couch or chair and in a matter of seconds he'd sprint to another place before his father could even make sure he was there. And today they were in a new place, so it was even more fun for Adam to play around and discover at the same time.

What had kept Julian following his son was that he had taken some documents, and was dropping them around the palace. Finally, after Anneliese started following him, Adam had released the remaining papers. Allowing Julian to take them all to return them to their rightful place.

And as he took them, out of curiosity, he couldn't help to see what kind of information they had. To his surprise, there wasn't much information at all. But a lot of numbers; degrees, measures and constructing processes. All together with a bunch of drawings. There were what he thought looked like boats, there were wings and hot-air balloons. And all signed by the same person, King Louis.

"I swear I left them in his room," Julian was drawn from his thoughts when he heard some nearby voices. "He told me not to touch anything. But how am I supposed to clean if there are papers covering the whole place?"

Julian recognized her; she was one of Louis's servants. Once they were approaching him the other woman spoke.

"Don't worry, they must be somewhere around here…"

Being a natural introverted man, he didn't want to interfere in their conversation. He hadn't realized he was holding Hélène's worries in his hands. But Renne **did** notice it. "Your Grace," The dark-skinned girl and the old woman curtsied.

Julian turned, and nodded in response. "What can I do for you?"

Renée wasn't afraid to ask, "Is there any possibility that those papers are the ones Hélène is looking for?"

Julian shrugged; he honestly didn't have a clue. "Well, I don't know. But here take a look…"

He tried to organize the dozen of wrinkled papers in his hands and then passed them over to the older woman. Hélène's eyes instantly sparkled, "These are the ones! Thank you."

Despise Hélène's thankfulness, something told Renée that it was not a casualty that Julian had exactly those papers. Something made her distrust the King's cousin's husband. "Thank you, Your Highness." Finished Renée, as she walked away with Hélène.

"Glad I could help." Julian smiled.

* * *

The sun was almost setting, hours flew like minutes and they hadn't even noticed. They were too busy enjoying each other's company to be concerned in the time. So, without even noticing it, the sun was almost setting. Reds, oranges, and yellows all mixed together in the afternoon sky. Once again the pair leaned on the edge and stared hypnotized by the bright colors. Silent but screaming in frustration in her inside, Corinne tried to break the thick quietness that had captured them once more. "I wonder if the girls noticed that we are gone."

Louis smiled to hide his worry, was she really having such a bad time to be thinking about what her friends were up to? "Are you so desperate to go back to the castle?"

She rapidly shook her head, "No, no. It's not that." She assured, how could he be thinking that? She was just trying to get a conversation started. "I'm having a great time, your – I mean, _Louis_."

He quietly laughed, slowly moving closer to her but trying to make it unnoticeable for her. Even when he didn't want to think about it, or mention it, Anne of Austria was supposed to arrive that evening. If he just let this moment go, if he didn't at least try to tell Corinne how he felt he was probably never getting another chance like this one. But he didn't want to pressure her; if he went directly with the 'I love you' thing to her he knew she could react badly.

Knowing how hot-heated Corinne was Louis thought she's think he was going to fast because he maybe was seeing it too easy. Which was not the case at all. What he felt for her was something he'd never felt before for anyone else, but how could he make her believe that if she didn't want to? "Guess is not going to be so bad being my personal musketeer, huh?"

"I never said it'd be bad." Corinne answered, never disconnecting her eyes from the view.

"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?" He didn't pause to think twice.

She softly giggled, and it was then when she looked at him. "I'm at your service, Louis."

"I'm taking my cousin for a walk in town and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"I'd love too." A quick and obvious answer really, even if she didn't wished to go she had to – it was her job to be by his side.

And then, silence returned.

A powerless feeling overwhelmed Louis's whole being. He felt weak, like if he didn't had the guts to just tell this girl how he felt about her.

Just beside him, Corinne stood silent as well. It was not in her control to make that _odd_ sensation go away. And she used to refer to it as that, an odd sensation. Because deep inside she was afraid to admit what it really was. All those butterflies in her stomach every time she was around Louis could only mean one thing.

But Louis was King now, if it seemed difficult back then when he was a Prince now it felt impossible for her to tell him. And now wasn't a good time, what if she told him and her feelings went unanswered? She'd have to face him everyday and live with the shame of letting herself be ruled by her heart. That was something musketeers couldn't do. They had to listen to their heads, not their hearts.

"You know…" He began to say, but stopped briefly to take a deep breath. The girl looked at him, his eyes shifted from side to side before they met with hers. "There's something I think you should know, Corinne."

She slightly raised one of her eyebrows. Secrets, huh? She could play that tension-builder game too. So, she grinned. "I have something to say too, Louis."

But that sudden burst of confidence she experience was short lived for now. It seemed that the weather was not on her side. Out of the blue, a strong air current caught them by surprise. It had been a tranquil, sunny day – nothing more than a calmed wind until now. Yet, this wave hit and shook the hot-air balloon.

The musketeer instinctively grabbed the King's arm for support, her eyes wide and her hands stiff. Surprised to see such a brave woman scared by just a light turbulence, Louis smiled at her. After the basket stopped dancing, Corinne realized how scared she had actually felt and her cheeks flushed.

She'd fought some of the most skilled men in Paris, she'd saved him from well devised schemes several times, she'd figured his cousin's plan, had defeated him and sent him to jail. She had showed the world that girls could also be musketeers, yet here she was, afraid of a light turbulence.

Now that she released his arm, the young man placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. He'd felt scared himself; they were pretty high in the sky, a fall wouldn't be very pleasant. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Corinne nodded, she knew that. It's not like if she wouldn't be able to find a way to save him and herself if something went wrong to the balloon. But only a several seconds passed, and the balloon's weaker basket was hit again by another air stream. This time harder.

The basket was shaken so hard that Louis fell on his back after it stopped moving, it all happened so fast that he hadn't noticed that he had broken Corinne's fall. He was slightly out of breath; Corinne froze when she realized where she had landed. Even though she wanted to stand up and apologize for what had happened, she couldn't hold it – she started laughing. The young King didn't waited long to join her.

Her hands lying on his chest and his softly holding her waist. In between the peals of laughter, the shaking shoulders and gasps for air; Louis placed a hand on the back of Corinne's head, tilting it towards his. It was now or never. And before they even knew it, their lips met.

Soft and warm, closed eyes. Her eyes sprang open, and she shoved him back. His eyes full of surprise, the rejection he'd feared was right in front of him. The blonde girl wanted to frown at him, to scold and yell at him – but she couldn't. Instead, she giggled. And Louis sighed with relief as Corinne leaned again. She was the one who grabbed his collar and kissed him back.

No words were needed, what they were about to tell each other earlier had been cleared with just actions.

The sky overhead a pale violet now that the clouds were gone, the stars small and faint. Their steps slow and calm, hands clutched together as they walked towards the castle. Even when silent, they could tell the other was happy. What they couldn't tell was that both had the same new growing worry, 'If someone sees us, what will they say?'

But that was something Corinne was trying to ignore, she couldn't care less about what people thought about her. The only thing that had been bothering her was now over; Louis knew how she felt about him. There was nothing that could make her stay in the palace bad.

He led her to her room, kissed her goodnight and even closed her door for her. She figured Aramina, Viveca and Renée were already in their rooms too so they weren't at risk - for now.

Louis sighed as he walked down the long hall smiling to himself, this day went better than he had expected. He had finally showed Corinne how he felt! He had never felt so happy and complete. And this was just the beginning.

Just when he was about to walk to his room, he heard some chattering. Two girls, he could tell. And just when he stopped walking, he saw his cousin walking towards him. Behind her, a pale woman with long chocolate-brown hair. Anne of Austria had arrived.

Louis paled; a cold wave ran though his body. He gulped and cleared his throat. He should have known his day had been too good.

His cousin looked as uncomfortable as him, Louis didn't knew her very well but it was obvious that she was faking the smile on her face.

"There you are!" Anneliese twittered, "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

The King could feel the sweat drops already forming on his forehead, and he tried to pretend that he hadn't notice the girl standing behind his cousin. "I-I was busy." He managed to say.

But the visitor had other ideas; she walked closer to her intended and stared at him – surprise to see how much he had changed. "Louis."

He tried not to flinch when she called his name, she remembered him alright. Clearing his throat again, he nodded and, with a dejected spirit, took her hand and pressed his lips against it. "Anne."

On the other hand, the girl's spirit's rose and she softly giggled with joy. "It's a great honor to finally meet you, Your Majesty." She'd been preparing for this day since she was a child, now that it was happening everything seemed too good to be true.

"Likewise." Louis dryly replied, hiding his hands behind his back and offering her a small smile that faded within seconds.

Anne stood there smiling at him, her fingers intertwined as she held her gloves. Biting her lip, and going-over the young man in front of her.

The blonde woman knew how awful Louis must had been feeling, she had passed through all of this when her mother sentenced her to marry King Dominick – she never had to do it because she was kidnapped and all. But the nerves where just as dreadful.

In order to help her cousin, she looked around the room and found a clock not so far away. Almost 7 o' clock. "Oh, well. Look at the time." She broke the silence between them, chuckling a bit. "I guess it's time for everyone to go to bed."

Anne of Austria looked confusedly at her, "But it's so early."

"Louis's got to catch his beauty sleep." Anneliese glared at Louis, giving him the cue to go with her lie. "Right, Louis?"

"Uh, yes." Anne looked at him, "A King's got to look his best." He tittered. Anne laughed a bit too; she appeared to be buying it. "Good night," He quickly turned to his door, "See you all tomorrow."

Anneliese nodded, and placed a hand on Anne's shoulder to lead her to her room. The brown-haired girl waved at him as she started to walk away. "Sweet dreams, King Louis."

The man waved back, his hand trembling. A question rumbling in his head, _'Why me?'_

What was he going to do now?

* * *

**_Author's note:_**

_Well, this took forever to complete. And it was mostly because this is another of those chapters a story need for the problem to take place and grow and make sense ;) Excluding the Louis and Corinne scenes, I believe the other scenes will make more sense once more chapters are added and the story gets more complex. _

_Other than that, it was because I've been very busy with school... and life. _

_Due to the fiction in his story, I needed a kingdom for Queen Genevieve (Anneliese's mother). So, Barbiegirl2435 suggested Vienna. And I think it's perfect. But because one of the characters name is 'Anne of Austria' then we decided to split Vienna in two; Anneliese's mother still being the one who reigns in both sides 'cause Anne of Austria's parents died. Like I said, this is only for fun and I do not intend to offend anything or anyone with this. And I want to thank Spirit Ella for helping me with Tiago's name! Thanks to both of you!_

_ For the record, I don't know if the girls are really able to watch and guard from the castle's room - let's just pretend they can, for the story's sake. And yes, I know, the man who almost murdered the King is walking the streets of Paris with only a cloak to protect his identity. More illogical things have happened._

_Thanks to all who have reviewed this, reviews help A LOT! :D_

_I thanked everyone, except for 'Guest' because well... he/she is a 'guest' in and I can't send him/her a message. So, if you are reading this, thanks for reviewing too! I'm so happy you are enjoying the story so far and I hope to update more often since I'm done with the most grating chapters ;) Now is where the fun begins!_

_Again, thanks a lot for reading this and please leave a review! It fuels my inspiration O.O!_

* * *

**Spoiler Alert - Spoiler Alert - Spoiler Alert**

As she handed the pair of coins to the salesman, Adam took the apple she'd bought for him that the other man gave him.

"Thanks." Said Corinne as she walked away, wrapping again her arms around Adam's back. As the toddler opened his mouth and moved his hands closer to his face so he could take a bite from the red fruit, it somehow slipped and fell to the floor.

Corinne instinctively leaned to take it back, but a gloved hand had already done that for her. As she looked up, a tall blond well-dressed man was staring back at her.

He smiled and, after eyeing the apple, he decided to discard it. Corinne frowned at him; yet he grinned, took out several golden coins from his pocket and gave them to her.

Adam grabbed the coins, and Corinne took them from him.

The man smiled at her, his acid-green eyes glowing in the sunlight. "Is this your little brother?" He asked, pointing at the toddler she was holding. "Because you're way too pretty to be a nanny."

_I hope this compensates my delay ;) It is due to changes, you know me - I'm all about details so expect more from this scene._

_Tell me what you think! :D_


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